Accessing Behavioral Health Services in Rural Communities

This presentation by the Rural Policy Research Institute highlights challenges that rural residents face in obtaining affordable and available health care. Affordability is directly related to the cost of insurance policies, either private or public, while availability is directly related to provider capacity, transportation, and technology. To increase the affordability of health care, the Institute first recommends educating people on the differences between their health plan options and their eligibility for public program insurance, while also restructuring provider networks and benefit design to reduce costs. Availability is limited in rural areas, due to scarce high-level professionals, states’ push toward community-based care which results in closed regional facilities, and a limited spread of functioning rural hospitals. The presentation concludes by detailing changes made in response to changing insurance payment structures. It also proposes accountable care organizations and health communities as the next step to creating desirable change in health care access for rural populations.